Chuck Brown, The Godfather Of 'Go-Go,' Dies

By: Eyder Peralta
May 16, 2012

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AP Photo/Nick Wass

Chuck Brown, speaking at the Washington National Cathedral in 2010. Brown passed Wednesday at the age of 75.

Chuck Brown, known as the "Godfather of Go-Go," a style of percussion-heavy funk pioneered in Washington, D.C., died Wednesday. His death was reported by The Washington Post, quoting his manager, and other local outlets confirmed his death with family members.

Brown had been hospitalized for pneumonia. He was 75.

As the Post notes, Brown's signature was a gravelly voice that "capitalized on funk's percussive pulse to create go-go."

The genre of music never quite made it big outside Washington, D.C., but in that city, it was a giant, played at every family gathering and every go-go club. The clack of the snares — that smooth, mesmerizing groove — was heard blaring from cars crisscrossing the city.

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